Metodología para la evaluación preliminar de la vulnerabilidad sísmica estructural de puentes de hormigón armado

During strong seismic events many highway reinforced concrete bridges have collapsed or have been severely damaged causing human and material losses. A methodology for preliminary assessment of seismic structural vulnerability of reinforced concrete bridges which ensures adequate estimation of this parameter without enough project information is presented. It is validated using the Delphi method, with the participation of professionals from different countries, which were selected for their experience in this topic. An evaluation tool is obtained including parameters not usually used by the existing methodologies and involving the checking of vibration period of the structure as an indicator of its overall behavior. Finally, the assessment of 18 structures located in the zone of higher seismic hazard of Cuba is presented.